"Evidence suggests that the bag that contained explosives, knives and brass knuckles, belonged to a man, GA, a former Russian soldier, born in 1965 and deceased in 2011", Denis Goeman of the public prosecutor’s office announced, as cited by Belga news agency.
On Saturday, a construction worker discovered a bag with makeshift bombs and knives beneath a staircase of a house in Anderlecht area of the Belgian capital. The contents of the bag were immediately examined by a demining team who said that the bag was not meant to be used in an attack. The discovery took place during the start of the Tour de France bicycle race, with the participants gathering in the heart of Brussels.
'GA' was known for possessing knives in the 2000s, Goeman said, adding that the Russian was "in an unstable psychological condition, prone to paranoia."
Since the Russian died in 2011, the prosecutor's office would close the case after conducting the final stages of the investigation, he added.
